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It has been a long night for Furina. Riddled with anxiety, she hadn’t been able to keep her eyes shut for more than a few minutes at a time. She felt like everything was crashing down at once. Like the prophecy was real again. Like she could feel the water levels rising, and the people she had promised to protect dissolve one by one, in plain sight. It was like she was on that trial chair again, her heart exploding in her chest in fear. She laid in her bed, wearing a baggy short-sleeved shirt now drenched in sweat, and a pull-up under her pajama bottoms, after Neuvillette suggested she wear one when she felt little during the night to avoid accidents. She tossed and turned for hours.
When Furina’s eyes opened once more, around five o’clock, she had not slept at all. Even though she had recently reconnected with people, she still lived alone. And it wasn’t so bad, most days. She liked having her own space. She liked the freedom of not having her every move tracked, recorded, and applauded. It truly made her understand she didn’t need to perform anymore. She liked buying decorations she found to her own taste, and enjoyed being able to truly choose items, making gifts, as well as keeping some of her possessions to herself. Some other days however, she felt as lonely as ever. A different kind of loneliness she had never experienced before; the one that came with being alone, as opposed to feeling alone. Furina now knew she had people who cared, or at least, acted like they did, and she missed every one of them dearly in those moments. She craved contact and comfort from those people, whom she deemed far stronger than her, more than ever.
She decided to turn on the light in the hallway, suddenly feeling hungry. As she walked to her kitchen to fetch a bowl and some cereal, she noticed a shadow outside. Spooked, but deciding to be brave, Furina kept preparing her bowl of cereal, even as her heart thumped in her chest. She had poured the milk into her favourite pink plastic bowl and chosen her favourite spoon when an unmistakable knocking noise was heard. Furina, abruptly frightened, began to feel very small, smaller than before. Who could possibly be at her door, wanting to come in, at five in the morning on a Wednesday? Another knock came. It was gentler, seeming more innocent. Maybe it was her friends? Feeling too young to know better, Furina decided to go see, hurrying back to her bed to get her Chevalmarin stuffed animal just in case. Carrying her bowl of cereal, with her stuffie under her arm, she unlocked the door with her other hand.
Standing in her doorway was none other than the Knave herself. The sight alone made Furina’s eyes widen, and the grip she had on her cereal bowl inevitably loosen, the thankfully plastic bowl dropping to the floor. There was milk and cereal everywhere, but Furina didn’t seem to register it. It was like time had slowed, the girl was transfixed at the sight of the other woman, and stood, paralyzed with fear. Soon enough, she came back to her senses. The Knave had already entered and shut the door behind her. Furina’s bottom lip wobbled in warning.
“I am deeply sorry for the intrusion, Miss Furina,” the Knave started. But Furina was not listening. Tears started forming in her eyes, threatening to spill at any moment. Honestly, this woman had tried to kill her. Was she back for revenge now that Furina was more vulnerable than ever? She covered her face with her hands
“I have been waiting for the right moment to apologize,” the Knave went on, seemingly not having noticed Furina’s state until she saw the tears streaming down her face. Arlecchino bent down to her level, as the girl faced the floor.
“Listen, Miss Furina,” she looked at her, “I won’t ever get in your way again. I wasn’t planning on seeing you tonight, I simply noticed the light on from the outside while I patrolled. I just wanted to tell you face to face that I had heavily misjudged you, and for that, I will forever be deeply sorry. As a Fontanian myself, I thank you for your sacrifice,” she spoke. These words were more than unexpected to Furina. Although probably too small to have understood most of it, she got the sentiment. In her most fragile state of mind, she stepped forwards, and hugged the Knave, her arms wrapping around her shoulders. Arlecchino froze, not expecting such proximity from the girl. Furina buried her face in her neck as she, now openly, cried.
“This was unforeseen,” Arlecchino could only say, still surprised by Furina’s reaction and eyeing the spilt cereal next to her. The reason for the previous Hydro Archon’s unusual behaviour didn’t immediately occur to the Knave, until she thought about a specific case The Doctor had mentioned to her some time ago, where such trauma had brought a boy to reverse to a childish state of mind when he felt endangered. Could Neuvillette, whom she knew had been taking care of the girl, have suggested this way of coping to Furina, or had it come naturally to her? She longed to know. Anyhow, now that she had understood, a wave of affection hit her. She patted Furina’s back in reassurance. It was unsure whether Furina was used to being in this state, and obviously couldn’t fend for herself like this. Arlecchino decided to stay to help. She had always loved children.
“It’s alright, Pet, let me help you with the mess,” she stated, picking the girl up into her arms and sitting her down on her sofa.
“Will you be okay sitting here for a moment?” she asked.
“Hold hands,” was the answer she received.
“So you can talk,” the Knave joked, receiving a shy giggle from the girl. She took Furina’s hand in hers before cleaning the floor using her other hand.
“You’re really not making this easy,” she said, “But I have vanquished the spilt cereal!” she exclaimed, binning the paper towel and turning towards Furina again. She looked at her for a second, pausing, before making a tickling motion on the girl’s stomach, making her laugh out loud.
“Would you like another bowl of cereal?” the Knave questioned. Getting no answer, she thought about the girl's young state of mind. She would probably spill it again, assuming she was even able to feed herself. So, Arlecchino opted for another option.
“How about some milk?” she tried again
“Chocolate!” Furina whined.
“Chocolate milk? Such a spoiled thing you are,” the Knave joked, “I can make some for you,” she added, after she saw Furina's frowning face. She brought Furina to sit on a kitchen chair while she heated up some milk on the stove, and cut a chocolate bar into small pieces before putting it all into a plastic cup. Still confused at how the girl would drink it, she placed it in front of her on the table after making sure it wasn’t too hot. Furina seemed just as confused as Arlecchino was. The Knave opened every drawer, and every cupboard, before finally finding a straw, which she dipped into the drink. Furina immediately lapped at it, holding the cup with her two hands.
“Good girl, be careful not to spill it,” Arlecchino warned, and Furina hummed.
“Thank you,” the girl spoke shyly. She looked at the Knave with such wide, innocent eyes that Arlecchino wondered how she could have ever thought Furina meant harm. She sat down on the chair next to her.
“You are very welcome. I’m sorry for giving you a fright earlier,” she replied, and the girl just continued sipping her drink, “I really shouldn’t be intruding any more, will leave you to get on with your night,” she continued, and made a motion to get up from the kitchen chair. Furina’s eyes went wide and she stood up, trying to hold the Knave back, her arms swung around the Knave’s waist from the back.
“Don’t go!” Furina clung to Arlecchino like her life depended on it.
“Tell me, Pet, does someone usually help you out when you are little?” the Knave asked, out of concern. She turned around to face Furina.
“Dada,” Furina replied simply, too small to know how to elaborate. She took the Knave’s hand, making the latter smile at the gentleness of her act. After running through the list of male adults close enough to Furina who would be willing to go to such lengths for her, which consisted of a single person, Arlecchino quickly deduced the identity of this mysterious caregiver.
“Would your Dada be someone by the name of Neuvillette, Chief Justice of Fontaine?” she questioned, rhetorically. The Knave smiled at the thought of Iudex Neuvillette taking on a parental role to take care of Furina, imagining him rocking her to sleep and comforting the crying girl. She could only be glad the man had not blamed Furina one bit for what had happened, even offering to help Furina heal. She was unconsciously grateful to him, for Furina.
“Dada!” Furina nodded and squealed excitedly before she calmed down and looked at her now empty cup. “Wan’ Dada,” she mumbled.
“I can imagine, but it’s half past five… You can see him in the morning. Have you slept at all, Angel?” The Knave tried convincing the unreasonable little girl. But she only seemed to stir her on further, as tears started forming in her eyes. Arlecchino realised how much he really meant to her. Furina sat on the floor, raised both of her legs, bringing her knees up to her face, and buried her face there, crying. Feeling bad for having mentioned the one thing the girl probably missed more than anything at the moment, the Knave bent down and reached out with her hand in comfort, rubbing circles into Furina’s knee. The girl seemed agitated, whining like nothing in the world could possibly soothe her.
“Want Dada!” she would cry. Her eyes were red from crying, her cheeks were puffy and the Knave could notice an outline to her crotch telling her that her pull-up was wet too. Already feeling like she had crossed too many of Furina’s boundaries tonight, she decided she would not go as far as changing her.
“Your Dada is probably fast asleep, Furina,” Arlecchino continued. The girl was having none of it.
“No!!” she cried out. Even when little, she couldn’t forget the five hundred years she had spent with Neuvillette at her side; they had met every morning to share their plans for the day around breakfast,consisting of a couple pastries. The Knave acknowledged this, taking into consideration the nature of the man, who definitely seemed like he would be the type to wake up at such an ungodly hour. After a quick internal debate, she decided Furina couldn’t be left alone in her current state, anyway. Even if the Iudex was asleep, the Melusines would probably be willing to help their previous Archon. She also decided that she didn’t want to be found in Furina’s apartment if the Iudex decided to check on her. So, she would bring Furina to the Palais Mermonia.
“Alright, Pet, can you fetch some socks and your coat for me?” she asked. Furina, immediately understanding she was going to see Neuvillette, obeyed excitedly. She opened a few drawers and brought the items to Arlecchino, who helped her put the socks on, and slide her shoes, which had been left in front of the door, on. She then zipped up her coat and put her scarf and hood on, to protect her from the winter wind, and avoid her being recognised. It wasn’t uncommon to see the Knave carrying lonely children in her arms, and no one would dare question it. Furina’s smiling face and excited bounces truly were precious.
“How about your toy?” she questioned, referring to the now discarded Chevalmarin who had been left on the couch. Furina nodded and bolted over to collect it. She had a pacifier clip connected to the stuffed animal, making Arlecchino wonder if the girl might need it. After a quick visual search, she located the item, rinsing it, before clipping it to the blue toy. Furina slid it in her mouth, and the Knave could only smile at the sight. The little girl reached her arms out.
“Up, up!” she squealed, wanting to be carried. The Knave took her into her arms and Furina instinctively buried herself into the hug. After locking the door, the Knave set out for the Palais Mermonia. About three minutes in, Furina stopped being responsive, having fallen asleep, safe in Arlecchino’s arms. Once the pair had arrived, the Knave gently rubbed circles into Furina’s cheek to wake her.
“We’ve arrived, Angel, time to go see Dada,” she cooed, even surprising herself at the gentleness. The sleepy girl awoke, yawning cutely. The Knave put Furina down behind a pillar, staying hidden, and kissed her forehead, both arms supporting her to make sure she could stand. She slipped her apartment’s keys into the girl’s pocket. She received a hug from Furina, still sleepy as ever.
“Bye bye,” Furina said, as she made a waving motion in her direction, and started walking towards the door. Arlecchino smiled and waved back encouragingly. Even as Furina walked into the building, the Knave kept an eye on her through the windows. Following her from afar into Neuvilette’s office, the Knave could see that as soon as the door to the very much awake man’s office was pushed open, Furina was taken into the Iudex’s arms, smiling and laughing visibly. He sat down on his sofa and gently rocked her until the girl fell asleep once more, as he kissed her face. Arlecchino could only smile from afar, knowing Furina was in good hands, but still promised herself to watch over the girl, whom she now deeply cared for.